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http://www.sandiego.gov/mayor/pdf/fireafteraction.pdf

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Wildfire knows no boundaries. Every citizen in the City of San Diego was impacted in some way by the firestorms of 2007. Twice in the past five years the San Diego region has experienced Santa Ana winds blowing from the east, for an extended number of days, and the conditions being just right to produce firestorms of amazing proportions. When the firestorms occur in San Diego, there will always be multiple fires burning throughout the southern California region, if not the entire state, stretching the state’s well developed mutual aid system to the limit. The San Diego region needs to begin today to prepare for the next catastrophic wildfire event. Collectively we need to do everything we can to reduce the potential threat, better prepare our homes to be as fire safe as possible and then secure sufficient ground and aerial resources to respond strategically and effectively to combat large wildfires in the absence of mutual aid assistance. We need to be prepared to protect our citizens for the first 48 to 72 hours when once again we find ourselves on our own.
San Diego is in a unique position to benefit from the increased public awareness created by the 2003 and the 2007 firestorms to initiate significant change within this region. The 2007 firestorms demonstrated that the working relationships and coordination in this region have never been better between the city and the county. The Regional Fire Protection Committee should take a comprehensive look at equipment, personnel, procedures, vegetation management and building codes. This Committee’s goal is to build on the many reports and efforts that have already begun.
Following the 2003 firestorms the Cedar Fire After Action Report (AAR) outlined a number of areas that needed to be addressed. Some of those issues were addressed, for example open cab brush engines were replaced, an apparatus replacement program was established to replace frontline engines and increase the number of reserve engines, grant funds were leveraged to purchase mobile data computers for our frontline engines, trucks and ambulances, City/County helicopter programs were established, real time fire progression information was needed to ensure a coordinated and timely response so the 3Cs program was developed, additional radios and batteries were purchased. Lessons learned from the Cedar Fire were applied to pre-planning and engagement efforts and resulted in SDFD being better prepared for this large-scale response than was the case in 2003. Attachment A reflects the recommendation status and impact of the 2007 Firestorm on the Cedar Fire AAR recommendations. Still we did not have enough ground and air resources to successfully combat the firestorm thus reducing the number of structures lost and provide the type of emergency response this community deserves. Although no lives were lost within the City of San Diego the number of structures lost and damaged were very similar to that of the 2003 firestorms. So where do we go from here?